Animal Crossing: New Horizon is getting a seaside update alongside Switch 2

We previously thought that Animal Crossing: New Horizons had seen its last update, only to be surprised by a new update from Nintendo on Thursday. New Horizons will be getting a Switch 2 update, which includes some features like increased resolution, mouse controls, and a few more online features. The Switch 2 update will be available on Jan. 15. On the same day, New Horizons 3.0 will go live across all versions.

The highlight of this new update is a seaside resort on the water, where Kapp'n and his family are hosting a charming hotel. You can lend a hand to the operation by decorating guest rooms to match a certain theme. Decorating rooms earns hotel tickets, which can be traded in the souvenir shop for goodies like clothes and furniture. Players can also submit homemade goods and furniture to spread the word about the island hotel and boost its popularity among potential guests.

Resetti also returns, suitably chastened from his more aggressive days, with a reset service. He and his rangers will clean up any area for you, putting your plants in storage while getting rid of more undesirable clutter.

Entering a deep sleep will invite Luna to your dreamscape, where she invites you to Slumber Island. Slumber Island can be decorated with furniture, trees, and landscaping. Slumber Island works as a sort of photo mode, as the player can adjust the time and weather, set up their favorite villagers for a shoot, or invite all their friends over to set up the perfect scene quickly.

Nintendo also showed off some collaborations with other brands under their umbrella. The hotel will stock various Nintendo memorabilia and consoles; with an online membership, players can use them to play some retro titles. There's also a ton of new Lego items, Zelda-themed goodies accessible via amiibo, a Splatoon crossover, It's an unexpected update, but one that will breathe life into a game that gave us so much joy during the loneliest days Covid era.